This 1932 Pickup Is A Hot Black Beauty
Ettiene is no stranger to SA HotRods. We all spent hours glued to our screens watching him build Riaan Venter’s 1941 Chevy Coupé, which was featured in Edition 10. But what many people didn’t notice was what was lurking in the background: fibreglass moulds of a 1932 Ford Pickup, something Ettiene had been quietly working on for some time.
The Street Rod Factory is known for crafting some of the hottest fibreglass '33 Ford Coupés and Roadsters in the country. “After things calmed down from the TV show, I decided I needed my own shop truck. I’d been working on the '32 cabs for a while, and I figured it was time to get them out to the market. The best way to show people the new bodies was to build one myself.”
Ettiene began by designing the chassis, using a similar design to the chassis of the '33 Ford Coupé. For the suspension, he opted for the tried and tested Jag XJ6. “I planned to use the truck as a daily driver, so I wanted to make sure the ride was comfortable.”
The 350 Chevy motor and gearbox Ettiene used came from one of his previous builds. Next up was the load bin. “I wanted to move motors and parts around in the truck, so the load bin had to be steel. I made it from scratch out of 2mm steel, and the 100-liter fuel tank on the back is made from aluminum. I love it when my rods are loud. However, on long trips, the straight-through pipe can be a bit much, so I put a special valve on the exhaust. She’s nice and quiet until I decide to bring on the noise!”
The '32 pickup cab, grille, running boards, and fenders are all made from fiberglass, which Ettiene now supplies in kit form. The bullet front headlight covers are also fiberglass moulds that SRF provides, with Golf MK1 lights inside. The indicators come from a 1937 Chevy that’s been modified, while the backlight is from a 1932 Ford.
The interior is kept basic. The bench seat comes from a 1400 Nissan bakkie, custom-fitted to the pickup. The seats and door panels are covered in faux leather, giving the truck a nice old-school feel. Power steering and electric windows are added comforts. The wheels are old Tiger wheels, with 7-inch rims in the front and 10-inch rims in the back, wrapped in 195/60/14s up front and 295/50/15s in the rear.
After all the tech talk, we took this baby out for a spin. Ettiene, like most rodders, loves the open road, and with his racing background, he enjoys going fast. This thing grips the road like nothing else and takes off like a bat out of hell. The cab is spacious, and the driving position is comfy. I could easily imagine hitting the open road in this machine.
While cruising, I asked Ettiene about the matte black paint job and the Jack Daniel’s branding on the truck. He smiled and said, “I just got tired of all the pretty shiny paint jobs. I wanted something different. Hence the skull on the grille and the Lucky 13 badges on the doors. It’s more my personality than anything else.
As for the Jack Daniel’s logo, Jack and I have been friends for a looooooooong time, and we’ve come a long way together.” Rods have been around for a long time, and so has Jack. They just go together so well. I’m sure Jack would’ve loved to do his deliveries in this truck all over Tennessee.
